End brace for venetian blind head bars



p 1953 H. K. LORENTZEN 2,651,358

END BRACE FOR VENETIAN BLIND HEAD BARS Filed Nov. 18, 1952 I M4,. 19,42H;S ATTORNEYS INVENTOR L 23 KMAM fzm F IG, 2 4 /z bars equipped with itcan stalled.

Patented Sept. 8, 1 953 BRACE FOR VFlltlETIAN BLIND HEAD BARS Hans K.Lorentzen, Montclair, N. J., assignor to Lorentzcn Hardware Mfg. -Corp.,New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application November 1a,1952, Serial No. 321,097

This invention relates to Venetian blinds and, more particularly, to ahead bar channel assembly and an end brace therefor. v A Venetian blindis essentially an assembly of superimposed articulated slats which arecarried .by a head bar extending across the top of the blind and onwhich is mounted mechanism for raising and tilting the slats of theblind. The head bar may be of the enclosed head type, in which the headbar is usually a sheet metal channel of U-shaped cross section, the freelongitujdinal edges of the channel bein curled to form inturned hollowbeads. Installation brackets, which are often secured to the jambs ofthe window frame, are customarily used to removably support the ends ofthe head bar.

In making blinds for particular windows, the head bars are not normallycut precisely to fit tightly into the space between the'two installationbrackets. Instead, the head bar is cut somewhat shorter to assure thatit will conveniently enter the space between the brackets. This resultsin a more or less loose fit. Generally speaking, with ready-made orstock blindsgthe head bars are usually made in incremental lengths ofone inch throughout the most widely used range of sizes. Thus, the headbar may be as much as one inch shorter than the'maximum mounting spaceafiorded by the installation brackets of a particular installation. I

To prevent endwiseshifting of the head bar after it hasbeen positionedon the installation brackets, to prevent the possibilityof an end of thehead bar slipping oiT of one of the brackets, and'to'brace the top ofthe head bar, the head bar may be provided with end braces having one ormore resilient fingers which take up the excess space and keep the headbar centered. Such an end brace is shown in U. S. Patent 2,455,135.

" The end brace of the present invention is formed of a single length ofwire which has an intermediate portion for spanning between the beads ofthe head bar and a bead-engaging portion at each end ofthe intermediateportion.

At least one end of the wire projects on the side of the intermediateportion opposite to the beadengaging portions to form a resilient fingerwhich projects outwardly beyond the end of the head bar.

As compared to the present end brace is less prior art braces, theexpensive; also head be more rapidly inw Among the objects of thepresent invention are to provide a very inexpensive end brace having-at-1east one resilient finger. operable to position a head bar withrespect to an installation bracket, to provide an end brace which canbe-rapidly manufactured, and to provide an end brace which can be easilyinstalled in a head bar and which automatically adjusts itself to thespacing requirements of the head bar with respect to the installationbrackets.

My invention is clearly defined inthe appended claims. In the claims, aswell as in the description, parts may at times be identified by panyingdrawings forming part of this specification, in which:

'Fig; 1 is a perspective view of a portion or a Venetian blind includinga head bar and an installation bracket shown in exploded relationthereto.

Fig, 2 is a, plan view of one form of end-brace per se; in accordancewith the present invention.

'- Fig. 3 is an isometric view of an end'oI' a head barchanneland theend brace of Fig. 2'in exploded relation thereto. Fig. 4 is a viewsimilar to Fig. 3 but showing the end brace assembled with the head barchannel.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary sectional view taken generally on the line 5-5of Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is a plan view of a second form of end brace, in accordance withthe present invention.

Fig. 7 is a plan view of a third form of end brace, in accordance withthe present invention. The Venetian blind I 0 is of the enclosed headtype, having a head bar ll formed of a sheet metal channel of U-shapedcrosssection; The

free longitudinal edges l2, l2 of the channel ll are inturned to formhollow beads l4, l4. Operating mechanism (not shown) for tilting andlifting the slats of the blind is mounted within the channel I I.

The blind [0 may be installed as a unit in'a pair of installationbrackets, one such bracket [5 Fig. 1. The installation brackets p ovid dth a limp after whi h When installing the blind, the retainer i9 isopened to admit the head bar I l of the blind Hi, the head bar I l beingmoved rearwardly and the ends thereof resting on the bottom flanges ofthe brackets. In a typical installation the head bar will not completelyspan the space between the side-plates H of the two bi okets for threasons that have been pointed out.

After installation of the head bar, there will be a tendency for thehead bar to shift longitus dinally within the brackets upon theoperation of the blind. To prevent this undesirable shift: ing, to keepthe head bar centered with respect to the brackets, and to brace thechannel; from iront to back, an end brace oi suitablevconstrilc tion isused. As shown an end bracejiy is if}: serted in each end of the channelll, each braee 20 being provided with a resilient finger 21 to bearagainst the side plate of the adj acent bracket l5, thereby centeringthe head bar with respect vto the ins allati n brack ts a d minim inendwi movemen of th iead. b r

Ilse nd rac Io me o as lelengt eiprings W r I as en, io md thet'hansteel wi e hav ng considerable res liene an cepable-ef yie di g o r aons dereble range th in the elastic limit, and having a diameter on theorder-of %g9g'0f aninch isksnitable forthis pu p se- The ce tral zone-oith wire s s utesan .11 termediat port on spa n be en the beads 1-4, 14 oi he hannel ll. This @0118 23, s .F e-

the pur pose of which willbe explained later. The po r.- tions of thewire latsthe diate port on 12 are bent a rig ang e t th interm diate prtio 2 and then ba k pon thems l es in spaced rela on-to 0 m aper oresilient bead-engaging portions 2% 24 which .are proportioned tovtelescope within and trictional y e s-ag h n e alls-o the bead 14, all}sin resilient manner.

One of the terminal ends of the wire projects onthatside oi theintermediate portion 22 which is pposite he bead-engaging porti ns 242,4

' acute angle to the intermediate porti nZ-Z I b so :p o st. t dorm twii. The 5,26 of the sl htly towa d the mem to fo m a smooth r u d d endat an to ,form the -resil-ient finger 2,1. of t t rmi al nds fingers, asshown in Fig. wire ,may be bent on the finger.

During ass mbly of themed-ba m n nd br 20 is installede h endio themedbe? channel M by inserting the headwengaging 24', 24 into the hollowbeads 44 M The-beadeneas ne p ion .2 M arees lient m iihe ihraee may bea em led b dr ng l'press ns these port ons into-th endsf h -head H theywill irictionally -;eng; age the inner walls of the beads and resistdisplacegnent therefrom.

With {an end brace 1.0 in talled in ssehend o the channel .-hl, theblind-is inserted nto in- -:stallat on b ackets. :In inserting a. b h adbar. it has been found desirable to have that end :of the brace 2B which-:is provided with :the finger 2i heated towards the ibraoket, so that.increment of {the headbar into the :bracket. the vinclinedqpdniann ofthe finger 2| will be resi*1- ,iently-rcammed :towardlthe end of headz-har as required :to'pnt the head char in place on zthe installationbrackets. :In this way. these ifin ers (automatically adilust-.themselvcs :to :the spacing requirements of the head bar.

e ds o the ni nne- I r n sing larly If, upon installation of the blindin the brackets, it is found that there is excessive space between thefront wall of the head bar ll and the retainer [9 of the bracket IS, theblind can be removed and the sides of the channel pulled apartsufficiently to collapse the loop beyond its elastic limit, In this waythe loop 23 provides or t n n o i. term didiq 129 21 for efiectivelyincreasing the width of the channel to make a snugger front-to-back fitwithin the brackets l5. Conversely, if the channel is slightly widerthan the brackets so as to prevent closing of the retainer (9, the loop23 will permit thelength 9; the intermediate portion 22 to be shortened.{Ihis can be accomplished by pushing the side walls of the channeltogether, the excess wire going into increasingthe size of the loop -23.It 'willbe seen that this end brace provides 01 elimination of bothlengthwise and transverse movement of the head bar within the ra kets -1as before mentioned, d red, the brace 2.0 may be provided with twofingers .ZI, 2| rather t an J st on n a s h p 3 ma beem ted from theintermediate portion 22'. an end brace ofsuch form is shown Fig. 6.

F 7 shows an addit onal a e na e .iorm 9? the ace whe e n one f thbead-e a n po tions 24' of the brace 28' is termed by bending h w r aight n les to the int nn dietsle r ii n 22' and. then fward y and backupo i s l i s a e a ion ith the end tion i" he W e c n nui g o to orm ane lque esili n in e 1' un i similar to he thi above described, The endbrace 20' is assembled and utilized in thesame manner as described forthe end brace 2B. l

I claim:

1. An end brace for a channel-shaped Venetian blind head bar hayingitsfree longitudinal edges formed into hollow beads, said brace comprisingng e n t o ns i h vin an nter medi e portion da ted to p betwee t ea sof the anne a d h in tio fat the ends of the intermediate portion thatare bent at n lnene es to the .n medie e po tion and then bac $11 1!them ev s ed re eties to item i esi i nt head nee ine por ions a a tedto lfr et ena lyeneae th innerrvansbi the beads, at least one of the "fr the wir nroi tine no th t si e or he interme ai vportion wh h iQppesiiee bea e iseei s po tionsto iermare ilieetfies r- 2.- Anend Messir-ash ann sh ned mind-head he h ne ts r es lens hidinei stormed ntehellh vvds, said-brac eemmi ngi a. len th-o P11.I1,%Y havin an intermedi te99mi da t d i vspan between the beads i channe -andha nebeacnengagingportions apted to l ssene with n he e ds;ane ;f;ic-

ii nally eneaee thelmner thenee alt-lea t on of the s is Q treatments.on ha si .Q th nv firmii ie rppliii qll yi'iiei oppo ites! the heasenees slr htien to a e n oieeties e it noses,

Amendhra eiereshaneelssheredi nei et bl nd madha .heymgr isifi seflene'disease @fiormedi io hol ow-t eses, se drb aeeee e as: s ngle ien-a ihof s i ey s -s rin el a iah inte med te rm iinn dent d o nas the beads othe the-r991 tion being provided with a loop adapted tQilQX-fli Wisportions aj; 531m @331 @f zther ni rmediete nortio ihai are etst sbangles to the intermediate portion and then back upon themselves inspaced relation to form beadengaging portions adapted to frictionallyengage the inner walls of the beads, the terminal end-s of the wireprojecting on that side of the intermediate portion which is opposite tothe beadengaging portions to form resilient fingers.

4. An end brace for a channel-shaped Venetian blind head bar having itsfree longitudinal edges formed into hollow beads, said brace comprising:a single length of springy wire having an intermediate portion adaptedto span between the beads of the channel, the intermediate portion beingprovided with a loop adapted to permit adjustment of the length of theintermediate portion, and the wire having portions at the ends of theintermediate portion that are bent to form resilient bead-engagingportions adapted to frictionally engage the inner walls of the beads, atleast one of the terminal ends of the wire projecting on that side ofthe intermediate portion which is opposite to the bead-engaging portionsto form an angularly projecting resilient finger.

5. In a Venetian blind head bar assembly, a (head bar channel having itsfree longitudinal edges inturned to form hollow beads; and an end bracecomprising a length of wire having an intermediate portion spanning thespace between the beads and having portions at the ends of theintermediate portion that are bent at right angles to the intermediateportion and then back upon themselves in spaced relation to formbeadengaging portions that are telescoped within the beads andfrictionally engage the inner walls thereof, at least one terminal endof the wire projecting on that side of the intermediate portion which isopposite to the bead-engaging portions to form a resilient fingerprojecting beyond the end of the channel.

6. In a Venetian blind head bar assembly, a head bar channel having itsfree longitudinal edges inturned to form hollow beads; and an end br-acecomprising a length of wire having an intermediate portion spanning thespace between the beads and having portions at the ends of theintermediate portion that are bent at right angles a to the intermediateportion and then back upon themselves in spaced relation to formresilient bead-engaging portions that are telescoped within the beadsand frictionally engage the inner walls thereof the terminal ends of thewire projecting on that side of the intermediate portion which isopposite to the bead-engaging portions to form a pair of convergingresilient fingers projecting beyond the end of the channel.

HANS K. LORENTZEN.

No references cited.

